Windsor fire dept. to star in USA network show

Filming set to start Nov. 27

Nov. 19, 2012

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Some familiar faces from Windsor’s fire department are about to become a whole lot more familiar.

Producers for “The Choir,” a hit show in the United Kingdom, are bringing it to the United States and focusing on Windsor Severance Fire Rescue. The show’s concept is to teach choral singing to groups of people who have either never sung before or never had the chance to.

While looking for potential groups, casting agents narrowed it down to several fire departments across the country. In a field where you have to work together like a well-oiled machine, the show’s overall goal and process seemed like a perfect fit.

“The (Windsor-Severance) fire department’s grown so big that the choir master hopes to make sure they can come together and know each other,” said Michael Carroll, a producer.

“(Casting agents) just loved the guys at Windsor-Severance,” Carroll said. “And it’s Colorado, so this area is just so beautiful.”

WSFR employs 30 full-time employees, 12 part-time employees and 25 volunteers, fire board President Stephanie Buchholtz said at Tuesday night’s board meeting. They’ve also expanded from just one station to three in the past three years.

According to Todd Vess, WSFR spokesman, some firefighters can go months without seeing someone in the station because of varied schedules.

“It’s so important for us to bond with each other and trust each other,” Vess said. “This is kind of a cool way to do something outside of the department to bring us together.”

“Nobody’s done this before,” Vess added. “To bring us together as an organization to do this, it’s kind of a neat opportunity.”

About five producers are set to be walking around Windsor until Thanksgiving. By that time, they hope to have their cast members scouted and a location set for the final performance. Carroll said filming will start Nov. 27 and they hope to premiere the show on the USA network in late February or early March.

In the meantime, Carroll said he and the other producers are busy getting to know Windsor and their potential cast.